


In Paradise

by domniall



Series: the side of paradise [1]
Category: Phandom/The Fantastic Foursome (YouTube RPF)
Genre: Age Difference, Anal Sex, Brief description of Het Sex, F/M, M/M, Manipulation, Rimming, Slow Build, Vacation, affair
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-23
Updated: 2017-05-23
Packaged: 2018-11-04 03:28:30
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 17,154
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10982412
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/domniall/pseuds/domniall
Summary: “Uhm.. Hi. Who are you?” Phil finally spoke, reaching up to rub his eyes with his fists.“Oh, Gosh, I’m Dan. I’m the pool boy, maid, groundskeeper, basically whatever you don’t want to do, I’m here for it.” He smiled and his cheek sunk in slightly with the biggest dimple Phil’s ever seen.





	In Paradise

**Author's Note:**

> men are trash  
> i don't condone cheating or manipulating but i do love angst and smut and this is what came out of it ! thank u to jenna n sereen for listening to me scream about this fic for a week. i didn't plan on it being this long. i was hoping for maybe 5k but. my brain just kept going.  
> inspired by dan's pool boy instagram post and my love of age gaps

The sun beamed bright on Phil’s fair skin when he stepped out of the airport taxi. He had only a moment to glance up towards the sky before little voices sounded and little feet began to patter out behind him onto the concrete. 

“Daddy, I’m hot!” Rosa cried out as she tugged her visor low on her head. Her little chubby arms crossed as she tried to stand in the shadow of Phil. 

“Well, sweetheart, it’s Florida.” He said, stepping back on the sidewalk and holding the door open so the little boy dressed in light blue could waddle from the car. Charles cooed at his sister and her big visor. She huffed in annoyance. 

Last to file out of the car was long legs covered mostly in a green maxi skirt. “Charles, honey, why did you make a mess.” Her head peeked out only to wince her eyes, letting them adjust to the brightness. 

“He’s a 2-year-old, why do you think?” Phil asked his wife, Sarah, his smile soft as he held out his hand. She rolled her eyes in a playful manner and instead of taking the hand like Phil had planned, she handed over the diaper bag. Phil wasn’t expecting it and almost dropped it, gasping out but catching the handle in time. Both Charles and Rosa got a kick out of it, giggling. They ran for the grass that lined the front yard of the house. 

“I’ll clean up this mess.” And the brunette was back into the car, picking up bits and pieces of snack foods Charles thought were projectiles. 

The driver was already working on removing the bags from the trunk of the van, lining them up the walk way into the house. Phil sighed as he felt the sweat trickle down his back and he got to work alongside the most patient driver known to man. 

\--

When the work was done and things were moved into the house, the family collapsed into the living room couches and let the air-con fill the house with chilly air that quickly dried their wet skin. Rosa clung to her dolls on the floor in front of the television and Charles sat in his mother’s lap, singing along to the music the show played. 

This was their usual routine for the first day in paradise. They let their laggy bodies fight off sleep until the sign of night came and everybody went to sleep early only to wake up the next morning bright and early ready to go out and play in the pool or walk down to the beach; whatever Rosa felt like. That’s how most things were going now, with Rosa learning just how much she could control her father with just a pout and a huff at the sweet age of 4. 

Phil, however, couldn’t wait for night to come. His brain was fried from the sun already and he was in it for 30 minutes, tops. He just needed a nap in a cool bed with his nice wife and he would be good and ready for tomorrow and the rest of the week in ‘paradise’. 

He squeezed his eyes shut and almost smacked himself in the forehead. This is paradise. This is where he wants to be right now. Not boring old England with his boring old job. Definitely not a week away from his children. Shut up, Phil. 

Don’t get Phil wrong. He loves his children. He would do anything for them, would die for them and not even blink about the question if asked. Everybody needs a break, sometimes. His parents always took trips away from him and his brother when they were young. He just couldn’t catch a break. 

“M’tired.” Charles said, his fists rubbing over his eyes before tossing his head back against his mother’s chest with a grunt. She let out a soft ‘oof’ before rubbing over her chest. “Honey, don’t do that.” 

Phil groaned. “You have no idea, buddy. Just a couple more hours, and we can sleep.” 

“Why don’t we have dinner? That will help everybody wake up. We can have fun foods, too.” Sarah smiled and raised her eyebrows a little before looking to Phil who nodded barely, his head lulling tiredly. She then went to tickle on Charles’s sides and got him giggling with her face buried into his wispy ginger hair. Rosa turned and hopped up to her feet, straight brown hair bouncing as she hopped like a bunny towards where they sat. 

“Chocolate ice cream! Or cookies, please!” Her hands folded like she was praying and looking up at Phil with her big blue green eyes, she kneeled with her body pressed up against the foot of the couch. Phil saw nothing but Sarah in her; her pouting lips, her puffy cheeks, her cubby chin and arms. He couldn’t say no to that. 

“I can’t say no to that.” Phil was smiling, genuinely, and she was squealing already as she threw herself back onto the floor and flailed around. Sarah just laughed as she scooted up off the couch, Charles in arms. 

“What would you like, sweetheart?” She asked, passing Phil. She bent down and kissed his forehead gently. 

“More of those.” Phil teased, wrinkling his nose with a cheeky smile up at her. She shook her head, mouthing a “later” to him before walking past him completely. “Nothing right now, I’m alright. Feed them first.” 

Rosa followed her mum out of the living room area and Phil breathed out slowly, the quiet of the room letting his brain stop for a moment to process everything. He stretched his long legs out over the empty couch and let his arms cross over his stomach that poked out a little. His sigh radiated through his whole body and the faint sound of talking from the other room didn’t help with anything other than making him sleepier. 

“Just for a moment. I can just rest my eyes for a moment,” Phil thought. 

A moment turned into fifty minutes. The yell from his wife was enough to break him from the sleep, causing him to jerk awake like he was falling off a building. 

“Philip, get the door please!” She shouted again, this time a bit more urgent, and Phil was blinking. Then he heard the knocking on the door. 

“Yeah!” He called back to her, acting like he hadn’t dozed off. He pushed himself up off the couch and gained is balance before hobbling post-nap over to the door, not even checking the peep hole before. He opened it to a taller boy. Man? Man. The longer Phil looks at him, the older he does look. 

“Hi!” The curly topped brunette says. “I’m literally, so sorry I’m late. The guy said you’d be here at 9 then called me and said you were already here, like, an hour ago, so I rushed over.” 

Phil blinked a few times because 1. Who is this man? 2. His voice was soft and soothing, and Phil might be falling asleep standing up listening to this person ramble on about things Phil wasn’t aware of. 

“Uhm.. Hi. Who are you?” Phil finally spoke, reaching up to rub his eyes with his fists. (Where Charles gets it from, Sarah always notes.) 

“Oh, Gosh, I’m Dan. I’m the pool boy, maid, groundskeeper, basically whatever you don’t want to do, I’m here for it.” He smiled and his cheek sunk in slightly with the biggest dimple Phil’s ever seen. “You’re… Phil, right? Your wife, Sarah, I talked to her on the phone like, a week ago. She asked for me to be included with the whole..” –Dan made a large circle with his hand that Phil saw in his peripheral—his eyes still drawn to the dimple—“package.” He finally finished. 

“Uhm.. yeah. Come.. come in. I’m Phil.” He nodded once he could stutter out the words his brain could barely produce and held out his hand to the man in front of him. Dan smiled brighter, if that was possible and reached to shake Phil’s hand as he came in. 

“Nice to meet you. Hi!” Dan’s attention moved swift and Phil thought he was talking to his shadow but with a glance, he had seen Sarah came into the room, a comforting smile on her lips. 

“Hi, you must be Dan? Nice to meet you!” Her hand held out to meet his and they shook before returning smiles. “I am, nice to meet you too. Happy to be of service to you both. And the kids! Do you guys need anything while I’m in the main house?” 

Dan’s gaze moved between Sarah and Phil and Phil could have sworn his brown, soft eyes drifted down to cover the entire length of Phil’s body and back up before he could get a word out. 

“Uhm, no, we’re actually going to head to bed soon, just need to get the kids settled down. Thank you, though! We’ll see you in the morning?” Sarah was on it with wide eyes and an eager smile to the new guest as Phil barely could stand, his eyes were lidded heavy and he swore he saw Dan to another once over with his swift eyes. 

“Absolutely! You guys have a great night. See you guys tomorrow.” Dan held at the strap to the bag that slung over his shoulder and adjusted it as he made sure to give smiles to both adults. He then made it through the house and past the long panes of blinds that covered the glass sliding doors and out in the matter of seconds. Wait, where was he going? 

“Wait, where is he going?” Phil brought his head around to look back to his wife. He totally wasn’t staring at the man while he walked through their living room for the week and a half. She was already walking back towards the kitchen. 

“The pool house is out back! He’s going to be staying there with us for the time being. Isn’t he sweet? Apparently, he can babysit, too.” And her voice was lost in the kitchen. 

And, oh. Oh. Phil thought. He snorted out a laugh with his lips curling into a small smirk as he walked back around the couch. All suspicion about the looks Dan gave just a few minutes earlier left Phil’s head has some brand new ideas came to his mind. Maybe it won’t be that bad. 

\--

It was kind of bad. Rosa woke them up around 6:45 am as children do, for some reason. Phil was caught in a nice dream about his Sarah and Sarah Michele Gellar and some strawberry ice cream when he felt small fists and feet dragging across his face, smooshing his nose and eyes. 

“Oh, ow, what?” He said, his head turning as his eyes opened to gaze at the small girl sitting between his head and his wife’s. 

“Morning, papa!” She said loudly, her chubby hands coming down to cup on Phil’s hollow cheeks. She placed a big fat kiss on his nose and gave a cheeky bite with a giggle before she was kicking away into her mother’s side. Sarah just got her arm around her and held her there as she woke up enough to deal with a four-year-old. 

They got out of bed at 7:30 and gathered up a sleepy Charles so they could head downstairs, stomachs growling and heads mostly clear of the jet lag fog. They were surprised to see a silhouette in the kitchen and in walking in to inspect, they found Dan in front of the stove. 

“Oh! Good morning, you’re all up early.” His smile was as wide as ever and his hair was pushed neatly to the corner of his forehead, still curly and wild. He wore a worn black t-shirt and black shorts (not the best for the already 80 degree Florida air) but Phil wasn’t looking. He blinked his view back up to the bright face. 

“Yeah, Rosa likes to wake up early. She can’t miss her cartoons.” With the sound of her name, Rosa was in behind her dad’s legs looking up at the strange, even taller man she hadn’t known of. 

“Oh, me too, I can’t miss Peppa Pig.” Dan shook his head, spatula in hand. Rosa spoke up. “I like Peppa Pig!” 

Dan smirked. “Me and you are gonna get along, girl. You want some eggs? Made everybody some. Unless you don’t like eggs. Shoulda’ asked about that.” He winced a little. Phil’s stomach grumbled. 

“Eggs sound perfect. Coffee?” Phil tried not to sound desperate. Dan grinned while scooping the scrambled eggs into the white plates, flicking his hair back onto his forehead with his nod motioning behind him. 

“Behind me on the counter next to the sink. Sugar and creamer are in likely places.” Dan’s eyes somehow seemed brighter, even at this God-awful hour under the fluorescent lights. 

“You’re a hero.” Phil said playfully, throwing his hands up as he went for the coffee pot. Dan’s dimple got deeper as he cracked open more eggs into the bowl to start another batch. 

\--

Dan stayed for half of the breakfast. He talked to Rosa most of the time about Peppa Pig and Sponge Bob and the horrific Lazy Town. “He even knows the damn song,” Sarah mumbled while leaning in to Phil’s ear. Phil snorted a soft laugh into his coffee. 

Phil couldn’t stop watching him with her. He entertained and made really good eggs and his smile went on for miles. Phil considered taking Dan home. He looked limber enough to fold up into their suitcases. Wait, what the fuck was Phil thinking? 

He didn’t end the thought, because Dan was saying his goodbye. Sarah had offered to clean up when Dan mentioned he had a schedule to keep up with while they were here and the pool and lawn were his first objectives. Since they wanted to swim later today, he said he would get right on it. 

Much to Rosa and Phil’s annoyance, Dan left in his black shirt and black shorts and his wispy curls. Rosa went immediately into a tantrum, begging for Dan to come back and sing again. Phil was ready to join her. 

“Think somebody’s got a crush on the pool boy.” Sarah smirked as she climbed up from the chair and Phil blushed because, who, him? Wait, actually, no, not him. What the fuck, Phil? 

“Oh, haha, yeah. Rosa, you’ll see him later.” Phil choked out and then quieted himself with downing the rest of his coffee. She huffed out with wet cheeks and kicked on her booster seat a few times. 

Phil doesn’t think the pool boy is attractive and it’s not a crush because he’s not 12 and he’s here on vacation with his wife and kids. 

And so, Phil gets up from his chair and follows Sarah, sneaking up behind her. With soft hands on her waist, he’s laying a sweet kiss behind her ear where she dabs just a touch of perfume. Her back arches slightly with a shudder and she’s letting out a quiet giggle. “Phiiil.” 

“Sorry. Just, love you.” Another kiss gets pressed there and his hands pull from her waist so he can move beside her, grabbing a discarded towel to start drying the dishes. 

She leans in and pecks two kisses on his cheek. “Love you too.” 

\--

The pool is clean with blown up toys when they head outside. Rosa jumps in, floaties secure on her arms and body doused in a thick layer of sunscreen. She may look like her mother, but was cursed with her father’s sensitive, fair skin. 

Sarah, on the other hand, tanned easily and nice. She could go out for hours with only one layer of protection and be golden for the rest of the summer. Phil skulked as he lathered himself up. 

“Stupid skin.” He mumbled. Charles followed. “Stew-id skin!” 

Phil grinned. “That’s right. Lookin’ cool in your shades, dude.” Charles only giggled and leaned his hat covered head back to show off his blue sunglasses. He was moved in between the lounge chairs occupied by his parents and sat driving cars up along the pavement that lined the pool. 

Phil could finally relax. Nobody was cranky. Nobody was screaming. Rosa was playing cowgirl with the pool noodle as her trusty horse. Charles made tiny vroom noises. Sarah’s book pages crinkled slightly underneath her touch as she turned page after page. Phil could close his eyes and let the warm consume him finally. All the little noises lulled him into a dream like state where he was half awake, an ear out for Rosa, but his body completely still and not chasing after kids or picking up toys. He needed to soak up as much as this as he possibly could. 

 

“Hey guys, need any drinks?” The soft voice asked coming up behind them. Rosa squealed, Sarah’s book closed, Charles cooed out. Phil felt really naked all of a sudden. 

“Actually, yeah, think there’s some cool lemonade in the fridge, can you get me some?” She glanced up behind herself to the shadow that stood over them enough to cast a shadow across Phil’s pale, bare chest. “Thanks, love.” 

 

“Oh, no problem! Phil, would you like anything?” He swallowed down to coat his throat so he didn’t croak out like a frog. Why was he so nervous suddenly? Why did he feel the need to pull his shirt back over his chest and sit inside? 

“Uh… just. Uhm. Ice. Ice water’s good.” Phil stammered, his one eye peeking open to see Dan standing beside him. His heart ran faster as he could see Dan’s eyes on him. Well, both of them. Mostly Phil. 

“Sure thing. Yeah, hi, Rosa!” Dan was laughing and waving to her as she swam to the edge of the pool and wouldn’t stop waving, chanting his name every few seconds. “Be back with your drinks in a minute!” 

And he was turning back around and heading in through the sliding doors. Phil felt breathless. Dan saw him like this. 

And while Phil isn’t insecure –he is in shape for his age of 36 and his wife say she likes his solid, pale flat chest – the thought of Dan seeing all of him made his hairs stick up. So, he reached for his shirt and slipped it back over his shoulders. Sarah flicked to another page in her book, her feet bobbing to some imaginary beat in her head. 

Dan made it back out in a few minutes like he promised, the glasses in his hands already sweating. Setting down their glasses, Dan glanced in between them both and Phil couldn’t help but see the subtle shift in emotion when Dan turned to Phil. He dropped it, though, almost immediately. Not fast enough, though. 

“There you guys are. If you need anything else, I’ll be in the house cleaning and all that jazz. Do tacos sound good for dinner? Or were you guys planning on going out?” His smile returned, squatting down momentarily to be level with Charles. He drove a red truck up the arm of the little boy, making him giggle. “Again!” 

Sarah lowered her book. “I think we’re eating out tonight. That little place down the street run by the locals.” She glanced between Dan and Phil and Phil nodded. 

Dan grinned. “Sounds awesome. Hope you guys have a good time, then. Tell me how it is.” And with a car back in Charles’s lap, Dan was gone back into the house. 

“I like him.” Sarah said, her book flipping back open. 

“Me too.” 

Phil almost said it. He’s cute. 

Almost. 

\--

That night, Phil forgot about the way his skin felt extra hot the way Dan looked over him and instead, focused his attention on his wife, taking in the way her warm skin radiated against his. Phil wanted to get in some lovin’ before any type of burn set into his body so he got down to business and Sarah didn’t complain. 

With eager hands and eager mouths, Phil did what he knew drove her wild and made sure to mark her golden skin with his tongue up and down, right and left. Her squirms and protest only drove Phil to do more, chuckling darkly as he did what he did best: teasing. 

It wasn’t long before his tongue found the warmth in between her legs and delved in as fast as he could and feasted on the woman below him. Her thin fingers reached for the sheets and hair and skin and gripped as tight as she could on it all, leaving creases and marks. When Phil decided to change the pace, he climbed his way back up to face her. Her eyes were shot already, her lips parted with short breaths breaking past them, and her hair tangled so perfectly behind her head. Sweat glistened and mouths kissed as Phil replaced where his tongue once was, shivering slightly as he heard the squeak she made into his mouth. Their bodies moved together, air rushing to lungs faster and heat pooling deeper with their heads nothing but piles of pleasure-mush. 

Or so, that’s what Phil wanted it to be. He kept pretending it was too hot, or, he was tired. He wanted a reason. But the air-con ran 24/7 and yeah he was tired, but usually, he wasn’t tired for occasions like this. The heat pooling in his stomach didn’t feel genuine. The moans were almost forced, on cue. His toes curled for effect and kissed when prompted but his heart wasn’t there. His brain was on work, things he needed to get done. His body, physically, really needed to orgasm, but his brain wouldn’t have minded a quick jerk in the shower tomorrow. 

So, Phil finished after going through the motions, letting Sarah finish with a loud moan. (At least somebody had their share of a good time.) He finished and pulled off, curling himself into the bed as he fell back into it. With her long, tangled hair and shiny skin, Sarah giggled and headed into the bathroom while Phil had a crisis as he looked at the ceiling. 

Was it her? No, it wasn’t. She was perfect as ever. As soft as ever. Loving, beautiful, and what Phil dreamed about every night as a 17-year-old with his hand down his pants underneath the duvet. 

So, was it him? Who else would it be? He squeezed his eyes shut and tried to think what the change could be. He was stressed about his work day on Wednesday. But he’s always stressed about work and that never hindered his drive. 

No, Phil thought, it’s not the face and the name that’s pushing itself into his head right now. He wouldn’t let it be. It’s not allowed to be. So he just stops and completely surrounds himself with the touch of his wife that returns to the bed as he adverts his crisis into his sub-conscious. 

She looks good under the moonlight that glows into their room and her hair is pulled back and she’s gotten a towel to clean Phil off. He lets himself be distracted by her touch and her words. She’s sighing happily and giving little sweet kisses so Phil doesn’t feel as bad about not giving his all. He falls asleep letting himself think it’s nothing. 

\--

Monday floats by in a daze. The warmth infiltrates Phil’s head and he remembers nothing but waking up, going out around 10:30 am and getting back 12 hours later with his stomach full of crab and a little bit too much beer. The kids are too tired to be cranky, their little legs and arms worn out from walking the warm streets of the little village they stay in. Sarah offers to take them to bed with Phil’s head fuzzy around the edges. 

He sets their souvenir bags down somewhere near the kitchen and stops in the living room to turn the one light on. He hadn’t seen Dan all day but when he catches a glimpse of the backyard, he sees the pool house window’s lit with a warm glow of yellow light. He wonders what Dan does when he’s not cleaning up their messes or washing their bathing suits. He thinks about his soft hands in the soapy water of their morning dishes. How good they would look holding the base of Phil’s cock. 

“Phil!” His mind breaks free of the naughty thoughts with the whisper shout from upstairs. Sarah’s leaning over the bannister slightly as she looks down at him. “Honey, are you coming to bed? Did you seriously drink that much?” 

“Oh, huh? Yeah, I’m.. coming.” Phil snorts at the double entendre only he knows about and stumbles his way up the stairs. 

\--

The kids don’t wake up until 7:45 the next day and Phil is truly thankful to whichever god gave him this blessing. They have a small breakfast with cartoons playing in the background and Phil thinks he has his emotions and thoughts under control until a brown head of hair catches in his peripheral and the glass door slides open. 

“Morning guys!” Dan is smiling in a pink shirt that says Sydney across the chest and black skinny jeans with horizontal slits up and down the leg. The meatier part of his thigh presses against the threads that hold the jeans together and Phil’s mouth starts to water as he remembers the thoughts of just last night. 

“Morning Danny!” Rosa is waving at him and she’s climbing up to go hug over the both of his legs. He crinkles his nose at the nickname but hugs her back anyways. 

Phil tries not to have an aneurism as he doesn’t make eye contact and watches the cartoons that flash across the screen

“Morning, I already did all the washing, love.” Sarah began, chewing down a piece of watermelon. “But we were wondering if you wanted to come down to the beach with us today?” 

Phil almost breaks his neck with how fast he looks between his wife and the man standing at the door. “We were?” 

She blinks and raises her eyebrows with a “uh, yeah” type of attitude before turning back to Dan. “We were. It’s a shame you are stuck working with the beach at your fingertips. Come take a break day with us. We’ll be out of your hair tomorrow for a little bit and you can catch up on whatever you need to do. Besides, Rosa wants to build a sandcastle and Phil and I don’t have an architecture degree.” 

She’s smiling before shoving another piece of watermelon into her lips and Phil never agreed to this because she never asked and Dan is smiling bright. 

“I mean, if you insist, I’d love to come with you guys, thank you so much.” Rosa squeals and hugs his leg tighter. 

“Are you gonna build a castle with me?!” She’s asking while looking up at him. He bends in and ruffles her hair.

“Oh, absolutely, the biggest! Lemmie go grab my trunks and I’ll be back, okay?” And she nods and lets his legs go. She’s happily going back to play with her toys and Dan’s gone now for the moment. 

“You didn’t ask me about this?” Phil’s scooting closer to Sarah on the couch and he’s raising his eyebrows. 

“Did I need to? I feel bad for him. He’s just a kid, stuck with us for the week. I’d have gone insane if I were him. Besides, he can go swimming with her while we relax. He’s like, certified in CPR. It’s crazy. We seriously need to take him home with us.” 

Phil sits back and huffs and pouts because she’s right but he doesn’t want cute pool boy around because that only causes him more agony. 

And it’s not like he doesn’t like Dan. He like, really likes Dan. He’s great with the kids, he never gets tired of listening to Rosa talk about the Disney princesses. He’s also really, really fit. His thighs are gorgeous now that he’s seen more coverage and his chest is really broad and his eyes are wide and sweet. He has done nothing but help them since they got here but Phil wants nothing to do with him. The more Dan stays around; the more Phil feels like he can’t control himself. 

And fuck, Phil is a 36-year-old man on vacation with his wife! And children! 

So, he sucks it up, and bites his tongue. 

And so the Lester’s and Dan go to the beach. 

\--

The sun is really strong but Dan is here, sitting next to Phil, so Phil really doesn’t want to take his shirt off. Dan hasn’t taken his off either, but he looks great, like he’s not even sweating, while Phil is one minute away from a heat stroke all in the name of his self-esteem. 

Sarah talks about food, politics, money, Taylor Swift, and Dan has an opinion on all of them and reverberates back conversation like it’s brushing his hair. It would be fine, and dandy, and just great if Dan didn’t keep looking over Phil every chance he got. Every response, Dan’s eyes wander, search, glance, seek something on Phil. Sarah is constantly watching Rosa and Charles in the sand so she notices nothing about Dan’s posture or where his eyes fall – Phil’s chest, mostly—and Phil needs a beer, or something. 

“So what are you doing in school?” Sarah continues conversation, because she’s good at topics like that, and that’s why Phil married her because he never knows what to talk about next. 

Dan laughs a little, biting his lip. “Well, I actually dropped out. Was going to become a lawyer. It didn’t really work for me, I wasn’t happy.” 

Phil blinks because he didn’t expect that. He hates that he put assumptions on Dan. Bad Phil. 

“Oh? Is this all you do now, like the services?” 

“Well, in the summer. My job here starts May 1st and ends August 31st. In the winter and stuff, I play piano and do backing vocals for a band. We play all around Florida.” He smiles, flicking some sand off the chair he sat in. 

And, oh, that’s kind of ho-cool. Phil buts in. “What kind of band?” He raises his head and turns to look and Dan. 

“Uhh, rock and pop, I guess? We do a lot of covers. Muse is my favorite, though. But, we’ve been working on a lot of original songs this past year.” 

The back of Phil’s ears heat up because of-fucking-course this man likes his favorite band. 

“Love Muse.” Phil mumbles, giving a half grin while he squints. He adjusts the umbrella behind him to cover more of his face while Dan grins back at him. “Cool.” 

“Daaaaanny!” Rosa is calling out and she’s giggling. She waves her arms wide and it catches Dan’s attention. “Yeah?!” 

“Come and play! Wanna make my castle now!” She points to the sand, as if she would make it out of anything else. 

“Coming!” He tells her, sitting himself up on the chair. He reaches for the spray-sun screen and Phil almost misses it. 

Dan gets his legs on either side of the chair and tugs on the back of his pink shirt, pulling the cloth up and over his body and head. He gets it off in one swift motion and he’s folding it and tossing it behind himself. His back and shoulders are broad and he’s built slimmer than Phil had thought. His sides peek out just barely over the band of his black swim trunks and when he bends and twists, Phil can see the way his back flexes perfectly. 

He takes in a deep breath as Dan sprays the lotion over himself, getting his neck and front and back covered. His skin shines now and he thankfully doesn’t turn around but instead heads straight for Rosa out in the sand, smiling at her. 

Phil holds his breath as Dan walks away, his back to him as he gets down and sits in the sand, talking with her about what she wants to build. 

He brings his hands over himself and rests them on his stomach as he finally breaths out, sighing angrily. He does it quietly enough so Sarah doesn’t think anything of it. 

Phil is never taking his shirt off again. Ever. 

\--

Dan helps Rosa build the biggest castle and she probably will never stop talking about. She’s still talking about it as she, Sarah, and Charles go off in search of food leaving a shirtless Dan on the lounge chair next to Phil’s chair he hasn’t left since they got there. 

“She’s great. I love kids.” Dan smiles to himself while he’s nestling back into his chair. “Yours are so well behaved, too.” 

Phil can’t help but smile and pride himself because, yeah, his kids are pretty amazing. “Thank you. I love them a lot.” Phil keeps the smile bright on his face as the silence isn’t as awkward anymore between the both of them as they lay quietly. The ocean fades in and out, the sound relaxing. 

Though, as if right on cue, it’s broken and Phil is rigid and stiff when Dan speaks. 

“Though… don’t think she’s the only one with a little crush.” Phil raises his head enough to see the grin plastered across Dan’s face before clearing his throat and putting on his Stern-Dad voice. 

“Excuse me? If.. if you think you can insist that my wife-“ And Dan’s laughing, quite loudly, as he cups his stomach. His eyes peek open into the sun to look at Phil and he’s got a look of disbelief on his face. 

“Your wife? Phil, please, we both know.” Dan keeps his smirk wide on his lips as his head falls back against the soft padding of the chair. His eyes are closed now again, lounging and acting like he didn’t just say what he said. Sarah’s back with the kids and Phil is climbing up out of his chair. 

“Going for a swim. He can help you.” He speaks while walking past his wife. His brain is fuzzy like when he was drunk but with more anger and frustration. He flings his now discarded shirt back at the seats and it lands in the sand. He doesn’t care at all and really just needs to wash himself of his ugly thoughts. 

He doesn’t have a crush on the pool boy. He flings himself down into the water once he’s deep enough to start swimming out. His arms and legs move fast and hard and he’s holding his breath in between breaks as long as he can. His lungs ache but it’s better than feeling the way his stomach warms every time he sees Dan’s dimple peek out on his cheek. His head hurts but it’s better than his heart fluttering when he hears Dan’s laugh. His body is strained but it’s better than how tired and spent he felt after jerking off to the image of Dan on his knees in front of him, mouth wide open. 

He feels like this and he can’t stop it. His thoughts just keep racing back and forth and the cool water washes him almost completely clean. The dirty feeling he had isn’t there as strong as it was sitting under the hot gaze of the pool boy. 

Phil knows if he keeps swimming, he’ll get too far out he won’t want to swim back. But, that sounds amazing now. He won’t have to deal with looking at that gorgeous boy for another four days. He won’t have to look his wife in the eye after thinking these dumb things. He won’t have to play with his daughter knowing she thinks Dan is cute, just like he does. Phil decides to turn around, though, because he can feel the lactic acid building up in his legs and the cramps are not far off. 

When he comes up for air, he’s down the beach a good ways, but not too far from the shore. He can barely see his wife feeding their kids with Dan sitting next to Charles. He feels his leg start to cramp up under the water. 

\--

Dan helps carry their things back to the house while Phil follows behind, a limp in his step. Sarah walks with him, Charles in her arms. 

“What got into you, sweetheart? Why did you just go off like that?” Her concerned Mom face only wrinkles up more as Phil winces a little with each step he takes back on the sidewalk. 

“Just.. I don’t know. Stressed. I wish I didn’t have to work tomorrow while you guys get to have fun.” He pushes a smile on his face to her and they steal a sneaky kiss. 

“I know, baby, but you gotta make us lots of money so we can keep taking vacations.” She giggles lightly and Phil nods. He does it for that, he tells himself. 

They make it back and Dan helps them in, putting things away while keeping Rosa entertained as Charles is put to bed. Phil sits in the bedroom, his leg propped up. He watches from the bed through the door as Rosa runs past down to her bedroom and Sarah follows behind. His head leans back against the headboard and his eyes close for a moment, finally able to breathe. He didn’t talk to Dan after their incident unless needed and only looked at him twice the entire rest of the day. 

Phil was pissed already when he heard the soft “Knock, knock” coming from the man’s mouth. Boy’s mouth. He was bloody 24. 

“Yes?” Phil asked, not even opening his eyes. 

“Just wondering… what would you like for breakfast tomorrow morning? Your wife said she’ll be getting up early to head out with them, so it’s just us, I guess.” Phil could hear the smirk in his voice. 

“Uhm.. nothing, I’ll make something for myself. Thanks.” Phil squeezed his eyes shut once he was done speaking, digging his head further back into the pillow. 

Dan hummed and nodded, though nobody saw it, and made his way out of the doorway of the room. Phil heard him say a goodnight to both the girls in the other room before the floorboards of the steps creaked with his weight. 

Phil fell asleep before Sarah was back in the room, a scowl on his face. 

\--

Sarah got up around 6:30 and woke up Phil long enough to sneak a few kisses and words of encouragement for him to get his work done today. “If you get it done, you might get a little surprise from me when I get home” were her exact words, and knowing Phil’s wife like Phil does, he only smirks and gives her one more kiss before she’s dressing and going to get the kids ready. 

They say quiet goodbyes as they go downstairs and eat breakfast and Phil falls asleep again between the local news going off and The Today Show coming on the muted TV in their room. 

When he wakes up again, his room smells of maple syrup and the sun is a bit higher in the sky now. He’s stretching out is legs, making sure not to get another cramp in his entire life and he’s climbing up from the bed to catch a quick shower before his long day. He lets himself stand under the spray for a solid ten minutes before doing anything important, since it’s not his water bill to pay. He goes over the things he needs to achieve; grade final exams, finish up guidelines and syllabus for his summer programs, and write a page or two more of his thesis. 

He grumbles because his head is already spinning so he just turns the water off and dries himself and slips on a pair of shorts and his worn Buffy t-shirt. The enticing male smell has only grown stronger and he can only think of the worst. So, instead of fighting it any long, he’s making his way down the steps. He hears soft singing and is already annoyed. Sarah can’t really sing and she’s gone, with the kids, and Dan’s in a fucking band. 

He stays out of the kitchen as long as he can. He goes back down the hallway of the downstairs into the little office nook. Phil’s laptop has been sitting there since they arrived, covered in its many colorful stickers. He opens it up and presses the on button before dragging his messenger bag up and onto the desk. He pulls out papers after papers and sets them near the computer. 

It only took him five minutes to sort and his head is hurting from lack of coffee so Phil takes a deep breath and decides it’s time. 

He realizes, he could have never been ready for what he was about to see. Even if he took a few days to prepare himself. 

Dan was at the counter, skillet in hand, shaking it as eggs fried. Phil got that much into his brain before it short circuited when his eyes dropped lower. 

Dan’s thighs were on display, short gym shorts riding up over his hips. Phil could see his hips because of the crop top that sat loose on his wide shoulders. The shorts dug a little bit into his thighs, causing the bloated skin to poke out a bit more where the shorts rested. Phil suddenly wanted to bite right there, at that very patch of extra skin. 

His eyes moved up and the round of his bum was barely covered by the shorts, the backs riding high up on the back of his legs. The smooth skin of the thick of his thighs looked gorgeous. 

What even looked better is when he leaned back, showing the outline of the round of his stomach that barely stuck out with the shorts holding it in. The crop top was long enough that only a small line of skin was exposed between the shirt and shorts. 

Phil needed to sit down, and breathe, because he was holding his breath in and his lungs stung. Like the beach, but Phil didn’t have an ocean to jump into. 

He got his eyes away fast enough, scurrying behind the boy at the oven top when he looked up. 

“Morning!” Dan chirped, flicking the switch of the fire top to turn it off. “Made waffles and bacon and eggs. Help yourself, darling.” Dan stood on his tip toes and shoved the waffle mix back up into the cupboard on the highest shelf. Phil watched as Dan’s legs flex and un-flex and shut himself up with the cup of coffee before he could say anything incriminating. 

“Thanks.” Phil mumbled, hidden behind his mug. He scurried past again, grabbing a plate and some bacon. He didn’t look up at all between him getting his food and going for the door. 

“You don’t wanna eat in here with me?” Dan caught him before he could escape. Phil let his jaw drop a little before turning back, looking past the boy in the crop top and shorts that looked more delicious than any breakfast did. 

“Sorry, I’m.. really busy today, yeah. Uhm. Maybe, l-lunch?” He shrugged and turned around, bolting for the office space. 

Dan only frowned and let out a soft little “humph” while glancing around him at the food on the tables. Only 12 hours to make something happen. 

\--

Phil scarfed down his breakfast quick and got to work on his grading first. Phil loved his job. He really loved inspiring people to look deeper past what just they read on a sheet of paper. He loved using things like comic books and movies to get people to understand the art of English more than they ever imagined. While Phil can appreciate Shakespeare or Poe, Phil lives now surrounded by technology, television, and blockbuster movies. So why not make an entire class out of what people already know? It’s one of the reasons Phil loves his job. Students come in looking forward to learning how to write a rhetorical analysis about the movie Shrek. 

Phil, however, hates grading. He loves reading what students say and think about and how their brains work because Phil loves reading into people’s lives and understanding others. He just hates the act of marking up papers. It’s menial, and tiring, and if he could just give everybody an A because their opinions are valid, he would. Grammar and punctuation are important, though, so he takes his time to make sure they understand. Phil wants the best for them, of course. 

He’s halfway through the papers when he hears doors being opened and closed through the house and he’s brought back to reality that there’s a boy in short-shorts cleaning his vacation home. 

“What is my life?” He mumbles to himself before ruffling his hair and getting back on track. He finishes the paper about The Lord of the Rings (he gives bonus points for nerdy facts, you go Rachel) and starts reaching for the one about John Tucker Must Die (another classic, Phil is loving their choices). 

He’s halfway through the next paper and two cups of coffee down and he’s thinking he’s on a good schedule. He’s working 20 minutes or so before he imagined and he’s kind of proud of himself for not getting distracted like he always does. The door creaking has stopped and he doesn’t hear anybody else in the house, so it’s possible Dan moved onto yardwork so that’s one less thing Phil needs to worry about as he continues to grade. 

Phil goes for another drink and finds his cup to me empty. He checks the time, 10:18, and decides he could use one more. So, he files out of the office back towards the kitchen. There’s no sign of the other boy until he’s coming with a brand-new cup of coffee. 

The living room blinds are shoved to the side, letting in a load of sunlight from outside. Phil’s glad it’s sunny and reminds himself to text Sarah at lunch time to see how things are going. Usually no texts before then is a good sign. He’s sipping the warm liquid when he spots him. 

Dan is out by the pool, white shorts hugging his thighs with a loose fitting long-sleeved shirt. His back is to Phil, thank god, and he’s scooping up leaves out of the crystal-clear water. Phil suddenly wants to go out and take a dip, but he can’t. He also kind of wants to hear Dan talk to him about anything. The pool, his job, what his favorite kind of food is, why he’s so damn annoying and persistent in making Phil flustered. 

But, Phil frowns, and takes another sip and goes back to his boring work. 

\--

Lunch passes around 12:15 with a text from Sarah and a picture of the kids playing in the water falls. He smiles, sends back a little text telling how much he loves them and misses them, and slips his phone back down into his pocket. He’s not even hungry so he just keeps working. With the papers done, he’s finishing up the lesson plans that need to be submitted soon. They take him all about 30 minutes to finish and he considers getting somebody now, but remembers he’s going to take a lot of impromptu breaks while working on his thesis. 

So, Phil dives into it head first. He pulls up the articles on his computer and his word document and begins. His brain is already fried from just reading what he’s already put down into words, and he considers scrapping the 34 pages he already has, but he ruffles his hair and gets down into business. 

The thesis and his eventual project is about sexuality and gender in movies, with a focus on homosexuality in hyper-masculine productions such as Marvel and DC movies. He goes from actual canon lore of the comic books into fiction written by fans across social media to what the general public responds to. 

He’s in the thick of reading through another scholarly article, his brain moving 100 miles per hour taking notes down with his eyes moving back and forth across the screen. He’s nearly finished with the third page of scanning when he jumps slightly, a soft yelp coming from his lips when a sweeper is turned on inside the house. 

“Freakin’ hell.” He mumbles to himself, his hand gripping for his heart momentarily. He blinks a few times and waits to see if the noise moves any closer. It’s upstairs, muffled with floor between him, so Phil puts his brain back into motion and lets the noise become just something in the background. 

The sweeper stops sometime during the reading because Phil doesn’t hear it when he sits back to let his eyes catch a break. He decides to keep going after a few sips of coffee and a Twitter check. 

He’s nearing the middle of the 6th page when a voice rings through the house. “Ignore it” he thinks to himself before turning back into his article and notes. The voice, however, only gets louder. It’s singing a song Phil doesn’t know and it can only belong to one person, unless an angel broke in while Phil was busy. 

He keeps ignoring it, though, and jots down more notes he needs and highlights important ones he needs to remember to help further the paper along. However, he’s not finding what he needs. Digging through articles has put a block on Phil’s brain and he feels like he can’t move forward off the certain topic because there is no transition point. He angrily goes back and forth between what he’s already finished the last paragraph with his new gained information and notes and it’s not clicking in his brain. He even tries to rewrite the last few sentences he has formed earlier and it’s still not fitting like he needs it to be. 

The singing isn’t helping, either. It’s not as loud but it’s getting harder to ignore. He’s hunched over with the heels of his hands shoved against his eyes, rubbing them in slow circles. He’s trying to not get worked up and angry because it’s happened before and it doesn’t end nice for anybody. But it’s not helping and Phil only continues to feel his muscles tighten in annoyance at the boy out in the kitchen singing bloody Britney Spears. 

Phil pushes himself back away from the desk and huffs out a soft grunt before standing up out of the chair. He shuts the laptop just to be careful and stomps a little for effect out of the office and down the hallway that opens up into a middle between the kitchen and living room. He can hear the singing clearly now. 

“With the taaaste of your lips! I’m on a riiiiide. You’re toxic, I’m slippin’ unda!” 

At any other time, Phil would be bopping with Dan to the iconic song that is Toxic but Phil just really needs to work. He really needs to get things done so he doesn’t lose his mind or his job or his place in the PhD candidates. 

“Dan, do you really mind?” Phil is asking in his normal voice while walking out of the hallway into the kitchen opening. Clearly Dan didn’t hear the question over his own singing because he continues when Phil walks in. And Phil really didn’t need this. 

As the icing on the cake that is the awkward relationship between the both of them, Dan’s in a skirt. 

He’s wearing a skirt and Phil honestly thinks about turning around and just leaving; leaving the house, leaving Florida, leaving the planet. Phil considers projection into the sun. 

Dan’s facing away from him, sweeping around the kitchen with a broom. The plastic of the broom knocks against the molding of the wall while Dan’s hips sway to the beat of his own singing. His legs never seem to end, and Phil follows them all the way up to the curve of his bum in the bright white skirt that flaps back and forth against the very top of his thighs as he moves. The light maroon shirt he had on is tucked haphazardly into the skirt around his waist with the sleeves pushed up on his arms. 

Phil’s brain points all directions back into the office but his feet take a few steps closer to the corner Dan is in. “Are you… trying to kill me? Is this your plan? Just ruin me?” Phil says instead of doing the smart thing and leaving. He clenches his fists with his fingers wrapped around his thumbs. 

Dan jumps and his head and neck turn quick to look back at Phil. The skirt hikes up a bit at the jump and flips back down before Phil can see anything. 

“Huh?” Dan asks, his eyebrows furrowed a little. Phil’s not taking it, though. He’s not dumb. 

“I’m not dumb.” He speaks out. “I know what you’re doing. The smiles, the looks, the flirting. From day one, you’ve done nothing but try and rope me into your little game.” His eyes are narrowed a bit while looking at the boy in the skirt. 

Dan smirks then laughs a little, like Phil just told a joke. He turns himself so they’re facing each other and Dan lets the broom fall against the all with a small knock. “Phil, I literally have no idea what you’re talking about. I’m just here, being me.” He points to himself to emphasize the ‘me’ part before his arms cross over his chest and he’s smiling. “If you have something to say to me, though, now would be the time to say it since… y’know. We’re all alone. I’ve seen the way you look at me. Also, you’re drooling a bit now.” 

Phil’s eyes widen a little and he brings his hand up to wipe at his chin only for Dan to throw his head back in laughter. Phil realizes it was a joke and he’s even more angry now. If this were a cheesy cartoon, steam would shoot from his ears, he thought. 

“Fuck you.” Phil spits out. He can feel the warmth growing in his cheeks and his adrenaline picking up, making his heart race a bit faster. 

Dan cocks his head, as calm as ever. “S’that what you wanna do?” 

Phil’s moving, pushing himself past any shield of fear or self-restraint he had and he moves with hands out in front of him, gripping at the thin material of Dan’s shirt when he gets to him. Dan’s smirking even wider now and only sighs out contently as he’s being pushed up against the wall. Phil realizes Dan’s slightly taller but that’s not as important as Phil getting his lips on Dan’s. It’s rough at first, he kisses him hard with heads tilting and hips brushing together as Dan is sized up. 

Dan eagerly moves his lips into the kiss and offers a soft bite onto Phil’s lip but he’s put in his place when Phil pulls off to give his own bite on Dan’s pouty bottom lip. Phil’s in charge. Dan let him think that for the moment being. 

Phil pulls off the kiss and gives another small shove to Dan’s chest, backing him up further. “This is just a fucking game to you, isn’t it?” Phil speaks, lips brushing across Dan’s. The boy smirks, his eyes already wide with excitement. 

“Maybe, depends if you’re having fun.” Dan speaks in a sickly-sweet tone while he tilts his head. “Just give in already, I know you want to. Don’t be mad at me. I’m only gonna give you exactly what you want.” Dan’s right. 

That’s all Phil needed to hear to cement his sin. “Give me what I want, then.” Said Phil. His brain seemed to move too fast and too slow all at once. Suddenly Phil was being pushed off Dan. He was lead back against the counter top, the edge of it digging into his lower back. Dan quickly followed with his hands pressing against Phil’s chest. He leaned up in again to invade Phil’s space and started the kiss once broken again. This time, Dan lead with his tongue poking through the line of Phil’s lips. Phil sighed out, his tense back evening out as he let himself be kissed and touched by the pretty boy in front of him. 

Dan lowered his hands over Phil’s chest and abdomen and hiked his shirt up to get soft hands over his still pale skin. Phil shivered and Dan only grinned with a soft giggle at the excitement that flowed from Phil to him. 

“Yeah?” Dan asked, his fingers brushing at the line of the shorts Phil was wearing. Phil sighed out. “Yeah.” 

Dan was kissing full on again now as his fingers worked open the button and zipper on Phil’s shorts, tugging on them and freeing Phil finally. Dan’s teeth went for another bite at the same time his fingers were brushing down over the line of Phil’s cock and it caused the older man to finally moan. Dan knew what he was doing and it was going so smoothly. So, he pulled away and let his head drop to glance at what his hands were doing. With a swift tug, Phil’s shorts were off and Dan was on his knees in front of him. Phil took a few steps to widen his legs so Dan could slot in between his feet easily. 

“Thought about this… in the shower.” Phil blurted out when he finally let himself look down in front of him. Dan’s eyebrows rose only slightly but laughed a little. 

“Was I at least good?” He brought his face closer, lightly nudging his nose alongside the outline of Phil through his thin boxers. Phil gasped. 

“Yes, God, yes.” 

Dan hummed and rolled his eyes in a completely fond way before his tongue was poking out. He lowered his head enough to start where he could feel the base of Phil’s cock and his balls. With his tongue pressing lightly to the material, he dragged it up slowly across the cotton barrier between him and Phil’s skin. The groan he got was enough to edge him a bit further on and he went to grab at the elastic of the boxers. Lifting them slightly, he brought the band down over the underside of Phil’s cock, letting the tip poke out from underneath. Teasingly, he let his tongue swipe across the tip a few times while his eyes innocently peeked up at the man above him. 

Phil was already gone, his head thrown back while his white knuckles gripped on the counter top behind him. 

So, Dan dragged the band up and down slowly over the underside as he continued to lap his tongue against the sensitive tip. Twisting his tongue, he let the side run along the slit of Phil’s cock and wrinkled his nose playfully as he tasted a small bead of pre-cum pump out of it. 

“Please.” Phil was begging for more. Dan finally gave in and reached up to tug the rest of Phil’s boxers down, letting them fall to the floor. Phil’s cock bobbed forward a little, finally free of the cotton hell and Dan could only smirk as he finally got his mouth around the entire tip. He was sucking slow with his left-hand reach for the base with a soft squeeze. Phil was already losing it under his touch and it only made him move faster. Dan was letting his head rock in a steady rhythm against Phil’s hips that were arching forward, egging him on for more. Since Dan was good boy, he sucked even further down, letting his cheeks hollow out against the sides. Phil’s breath hitched at the feeling of the tightness and he bucked forward again, pressing deeper into Dan’s mouth. 

Dan made a noise deep in his throat as Phil pressed on so he moved his head faster, his hand squeezing again at the base before it was moving over the rest of Phil’s cock he couldn’t quite fit in his mouth. The sound that radiated through his throat went straight through Phil’s cock and he moaned out, his head hitting back up against the cabinet behind them. He didn’t feel much of it though as he arched his back again, letting the counter scratch it up. 

“Fuck, please. Wanna-God. Dan. Let me fuck you.” Phil mumbled out, biting his lip as he retracts his hips slightly, nearly ready to orgasm. Thankfully, Dan is quick to pull off with a grin on his lips. He licks the saliva the spilled down over his chin but stays on his knees as he’s looking up at Phil, eyes wide. “You wanna fuck me, daddy?” 

And fuck, if Phil isn’t completely gone. 

“Really do, baby.” He mumbled out and that’s all Dan needed to hear before he was popping back up on his feet, the skirt bouncing as he eagerly walks himself across the kitchen to the table. He gets the chairs out of the way to form a gap before he’s hopping up on with his arms stretched out behind him to hold him up. He tilts his head and grins before crossing his right leg across his left.

Phil stays in position, dick out and all, just watching him walk and sit and he gets lost in the way Dan is the most gorgeous thing he’s ever seen. He’s soft, round and pudgy in Phil’s favorite places, and dirty as all fuck. His thighs are to die for and he can’t wait to get them around his waist. 

“Well c’mon, old man.” Dan says, breaking Phil from his daydream. Phil glares playfully before pushing himself away from the counter. He trips across his discarded shorts and boxers and almost biffs it on the floor only to catch himself on the counter top across from where he was. “Oh shit.” He said while Dan’s going ready with laughter as he throws his head back. 

“Good one!” He’s laughing and smacking his exposed thigh and Phil is glaring at him playfully still as he gains his footing back and steps from his discarded clothes. He’s over to Dan in a second, spreading his legs open. 

“Oh.” Dan says, his laughing fading quickly as he helps spread his legs open. Phil is touching softly where the skirt falls on Dan’s thighs and he really wants to keep this moment in his mind forever. His hands stroke up, pushing the skirt along with them before it’s his turn to get to his knees. Dan bites his lip and smirks as Phil nudges him closer to the edge of the table and starts peppering light kisses up the insides of his legs. Phil takes it slow, making sure to cover every inch he can on one leg before moving to the other. His fingers press against the skin to make small finger shaped red marks before watching them disappear after a few seconds. He then kisses right back over where his fingers just marked on the creamy skin. It’s all Phil’s dreamed about since he saw them poking out in his cut up jeans and he really doesn’t want to stop but Dan’s got his hand fluffing around in his hair now, giving small tugs to gain his attention. 

Phil finally pulls back and raises his head up to gaze up at Dan and he’s grinning. “Gonna do anything else or just kiss me?” 

And while Phil would absolutely love to just spend his time in between Dan’s legs like this, he nods. “Gonna finger you.” 

“Yeah, fuck.” And Dan’s ready again, licking over his lips. Phil pushes his hips back to get more access before he’s moving to his feet again. Dan lowers himself back after bending his arms now, resting on his elbows. With his legs spread a bit more, Phil reaches his hands up underneath the skirt and gets a hold of the fabric of Dan’s underwear. Dan lifts his hips and Phil is tugging them down, only to see the lace white panties with a blue bow across the front. Phil feels light headed when he sees them and groans quietly. 

“Y’can keep ‘em if you want.” Dan mumbles and Phil’s rolling his eyes but considering it. He tosses them to the ground though, and starts hiking up the skirt even more. Phil can see the tent Dan’s cock makes and bends in to kiss the tip softly through the fabric. Dan whines softly but Phil is getting back down again so he’s level with the table. With Dan almost flush with the edge of the table, Phil brings his head forward without any other warning and pokes his tongue out to lick at Dan’s perineum. With a loud gasp from above, Phil smirks and continues moving his tongue along the sensitive area. Dan gets another firm grip on Phil’s hair with a free hand and he’s tugging as his lower body shudders from the feeling. 

“Fuck, don’t stop.” He says through his gritted teeth. Phil wouldn’t dare, letting his tongue move lower to brush along the ring of muscle that twitches slightly at the feeling. Dan’s whining more now, his head thrown back. It’s only music to Phil’s ears as his tongue fully licks and swipes across the hole. He makes sure it’s glistening with his saliva before moving back enough to bring his fingers into play. 

He drags his thumb through the saliva that’s built up before he’s nudging it into Dan. His thumb meets natural resistance before it’s pressing into him slowly. Dan moans softly and hooks his left leg up over Phil’s shoulder while Phil presses his finger deeper only to pull it out. He does the same thing, moving it into him slowly before he’s thrusting it easily. Dan’s legs tense up slightly but as the movement continues, he’s pressing down against the finger in him. “More.” He whines out. 

Phil obliges, pulling his thumb out before twisting his hand around. He spits into his thumb, index and middle finger before spreading it down over the two with his thumb. Dan’s eager and rocking his dips down into nothing but Phil gives his thigh a small pinch. “Patience” Phil mumbles and he’s back again at Dan’s hole with his two new fingers. Dan feels the pressure of both fingers nudging at him and moans a bit louder as they finally sink into him. He feels stretched already and it’s good and the slight burn that radiates through him makes him shudder with pleasure again. 

Phil’s fingers move slow and deep to open Dan up best as he can. He twists inside before pulling them out most of the way only to thrust them in faster. Dan is squirming, his hips jerking down against Phil’s had every time he presses in. He raises his hand up after giving a small tap to the side of Phil’s head. “Curl ‘em… like this.” And Dan demonstrates, hooking his fingers down in the air. “And press…” He says breathlessly. Phil presses his fingers back in and he does as he’s told, hooking his fingers and pressing in. He does it right because Dan almost screams out, his groan is so loud. He’s arching up off the table and eagerly nudging down into Phil’s fingers. 

“Yes, fuck, fuck.” He chants while Phil smirks at himself, thrusting out before pressing back in again to push back against the spot. The whimper that comes out of the younger boy makes the blood rush back to Phil’s dick and he really wants to fuck him right now. 

So that’s what he does. Phil retracts his fingers in as still noisy Dan and pushes himself back up. He takes a hold of his own cock and thrusts into his hand a few times. He sighs contently and then looks down at the boy over the table, already a completely mess. Phil could already come again, but he stops himself when he realizes something. 

“Condom?” Phil blurts out before glancing around. He doesn’t have his wallet on him and he’s really not in the mood to go search for it upstairs. Thankfully, for some strange reason, the forces are on their side because Dan, in his hazy turned-on slow motion daze, tugs a single condom out of his skirt pocket and holds it up in the direction of Phil. It’s lubed, which, thank fuck, and Phil tears it open and slips it over himself before giving another few quick strokes. By the time he looks up again, Dan’s watching with a smug smirk on his lips and his hair’s a bit fluffed. 

“Gonna fuck me good?” He asked, voice dulled but sultry from the pleasure. He’s up on his one arm and watching Phil stroke himself. Phil only nods and gives a returning smirk before he’s stepping closer again. Dan’s one leg that was on Phil’s shoulder gets around his waist and pulls him closer while he takes a hold of his t-shirt, fisting his hands in it. Dan braces himself just slightly as the tip of Phil’s cock nudges and finally presses up into him. Phil keeps a hold on his thigh, gripping a bit roughly as he’s inching inside of him, low moans falling from his mouth. This is Dan’s favorite part. The first feeling, the first stretch. He loves the burn, how it runs through him and sparks his brain and makes him think in overdrive. While he does obviously like the orgasm that comes with it, he loves to be opened up around a cock for the first time after a long time. 

And that’s what Phil does, pressing his hips and bottoming out in Dan. He whines high in his throat while his head lulls back against his shoulders. Phil takes that opportunity and rests his hands on the table on either side of the body in front of him and goes for Dan’s neck. He kisses at it mostly before biting a little mark right below his jaw. Dan squeezes himself around Phil once and gets a sweet moan from the older man. It sounds good and feels good and he would rather just stay like this for a while but he knows Phil is eager to move and that’s just what he does. 

Phil pulls his hips back all the way, leaving just the tip before thrusting back to bottom out again, causing Dan to squeal out. “Shit!” The noises and words only lead Phil on and he’s dropping his hips slightly as he begins to move his hips back and forth. He keeps his head down in Dan’s neck, kissing there and biting when he likes. His elbows make it to rest against the table and Dan’s gripping on his hair with both hands and more tugging, not that Phil minds. He just hopes he doesn’t go bald. 

“Faster, please.” Dan breathes out, cupping the back of Phil’s head. Phil eagerly meets Dan’s request and slots in between his thighs faster, grinding on the thrust into him each time. It fulfills the request because both moan at the same time. Phil lowers his head and moves across the span of Dan’s neck to lick his tongue into his exposed collar bone. He nibbles lightly on the bone before licking again into the dip that forms there as Dan flexes and arches his back up against Phil’s body. The more he moves, the more the table shakes and shifts underneath them but neither notice. Phil only goes faster, his hips losing pace the more he feels the sweat drip down his temple and the more the heat and pleasure and yes yes yes pulls at his stomach. He can tell Dan feels it too with how each thrust causes another squeak, another moan, or another “yeah” pouring from his red lips. Lips that Phil needs in his life again at the moment. 

Phil comes back to face the wide-eyed, fucked-out Dan and kisses again, biting and licking over the swollen skin of his lips and Dan loves it, parting his lips and his legs for Phil to invade him. He’s cupping the sides of his head and tugging him closer with both legs around his waist and he feels like he’ll explode with nothing but the sense of Phil surrounding him. Literally and figuratively. Dan is so wrapped up in Phil and so full up of him that he almost forgets to warn that he’s going to come. 

“Phiiiil.” He’s whining out on his lips, his jaw dropping slightly as Phil continuously pounds into him right at that spot. He can’t even speak as the pure, hot pleasure starts to build up inside of him. Phil can tell, can see it in his eyes and the way he gasps that Dan is close and he keeps rocking quick and fast into him. 

“Gonna come.. come for daddy?” Phil asks with nothing left in him but pure adrenaline. He wants nothing more than for Dan to come and he’s nodding with his lips parted and eyes closed. Phil presses his stomach forward slightly, letting it catch against Dan’s cock and he’s letting the friction that fills the space between them help get Dan off. It works extremely well because Dan is screeching out and screaming as his hands grip for Phil and his shoulders and his shirt and his hair has he finally comes undone under Phil. 

White spills over his skirt and the bottom half of his shirt as well as Phil’s but he can’t care because the sounds and images that have been imprinted in his brain are enough for the rest of his lifetime, but especially this moment. He doesn’t search for it and he asking for it to come already. It hits him hard, and better than ever before because Phil can only make one more thrust before he too orgasms with a loud, deep groan. He grips at the table to keep him upright, not wanting to smush the worn out body underneath him. He’s breathing heavily, his head hanging down while he tries to gain any strength left in his body. 

When he does finally come back to himself and isn’t just an astral projection of his former self, Dan’s laid out starfished on the table and giggling happily. His flushed face is smiling with his hair sticking to his forehead and Phil smiles at him. He reaches up and pushes the little curls that fall over his eyes before planting a sweet kiss to Dan’s lips. 

“Got my skirt all messy.” Dan mumbles into Phil’s mouth and Phil glances down in between them to see the strings of white spilled out over him. It looks oddly gorgeous and Phil just smiles blissfully. 

“Good thing you’re so good at washing clothes, m’sure it won’t be hard to get the stain out.” Dan laughs but Phil doesn’t. 

Phil’s eyes go wide and he realizes this isn’t a dream and it never was. He didn’t fall asleep reading some article and he didn’t take a nap after doing some work and he’s not dead and in heaven because he can feel the ginormous wave of fear and anger wash over him and settle right in the middle of his chest. 

Cheaters don’t go to heaven, Phil. 

“No… No no no no no no!” He’s yelling out, falling back and out of Dan and into the kitchen deeper with his back hitting the counter top. He’s naked, covered in cum that doesn’t belong to him in the middle of a kitchen he’s supposed to be sharing with his wife and kids. And, holy fuck, his wife and kids. 

Phil honestly didn’t do this. He’s not here right now. 

As if he finally came back into his body, he looks between his clothes on the floor right back over to the table where Dan is still laying, his expression not saying much. He sort-of deadpans at Phil as he lays back on his elbows, skirt hiked up with his soft cock laying across it. 

He’s here right now and he just fucked the pool boy and he just cheated on his wife. 

“No!” He’s screaming. “What the fuck?!” He rips the condom off of himself and flings it to the floor before he’s going to his boxers and slipping them on frantically followed by his shorts. He’s rushing back to the table once they’re buttoned up and he shoves at Dan who is still laying there. 

“Don’t you fucking say anything, do you hear me? I’ll give you whatever you want, just don’t say a word.” 

Dan just rolls his eyes, annoyed with him. “I’m not gonna say anything. Unless you wanna get her in on it too?” He smirks and watches as Phil’s eyes widen. 

“You’re fucking insane! No! That’s my fucking wife, you nasty pervert!” Phil’s red in the face now, his whole body in shock and wired. His skin is prickled with goose bumps and he’s on the verge of crying. “Get out! Go back to your own house.” 

Dan scoffed and shoved himself off the table. He bent down to pick up his panties from the floor, wiggling his bum in the air as he did so. “A nasty pervert you fucked.” Dan implied as he stood up, flinging the panties around his finger. 

“Get the hell out!” Phil screamed, pointing towards the door. His eyes were closed, holding back what was about to spill from them. He might explode. Dan just rolled his eyes once more and went on his way. He made sure to slam the glass door when he went through it and Phil jumped slightly when he did. Phil kept calm as long as he could, long enough to pick up the condom from the kitchen floor and throw it away in the outside trash. He also kept it together long enough to get into the bedroom and lock the door behind him. 

He sat himself on the bed and let the first sob come out. His whole body shook with anger and guilt and he didn’t know what to do other than sit in silence and let his body expel the emotion that ripped through him. 

Why did he do this? How could he do this? Was he stupid? 

He couldn’t shake the thought that he did this willingly. His judgment and morals betrayed him in a fight won by his dick and only his dick. There was no excuse he could think of for any of this because there were no excuses. He wasn’t drunk, he wasn’t on something or hypnotized by a magical genie. 

He was seduced and led on and he fell for it and he hates himself. 

Phil broke the very oath he vowed and promised to his wife on their wedding day and his body felt like it was shutting down with how much he hated himself. 

“I cheated.” He finally admitted to himself, another choking sob coming from his chest. He coughed it out while the tears continued to fall down his cheeks and soaked his neck and the collar of his t-shirt. The t-shirt that still had Dan’s cum on it. 

He was up and off the bed quick, stripping the shirt off as well as his boxers and shorts. He kicked them into a corner before rushing into the shower where he turned on the hottest water he could. He waited while wiping his nose and eyes clear. He climbed into the shower and let the burning water wash him off. He let the tears run along with the water and tried to clean what evidence of Dan was left on him. He could still taste him. He could still hear him. He could still smell him. Phil grabbed the scrubbie of his and began rubbing his skin raw, doing anything he could to start to forget. 

\--

Sarah, Rosa, and Charles filed into the door around 9:30 pm. Sarah filed in mostly, her arms full of half-asleep children. She glanced around and shrugged a little when the lights were off completely downstairs and made her way up to put them to bed. She knows she’ll be woken up at around 3am to help them change but she doesn’t mind. 

Their bedroom is barely lit with the glow of the TV flashing some random American sitcom and Phil’s curled up underneath the covers. She smiles, slipping her shoes off before coming over to kiss his forehead. He jerks away and lets out a quiet gasp and she can’t help but let out a little giggle. 

“You’re asleep early.” She mumbles before nudging herself into the bed. Phil moves reluctantly, not saying anything. She keeps her smile on her lips while she’s snuggling down underneath the covers with him. Phil sniffles a little and rubs his face into the pillow while he keeps his arms wrapped around him. He can’t look in her eyes so he just closes his again as she’s moving in close around him. 

“So, did you get your work done?” She’s asking while reaching to push the fringe that falls down over Phil’s face. 

“Yeah...” He croaks out, wrinkling his nose a little. Her own eyebrows wrinkle.

“Are you sick, sweetie? Oh, no.” Phil pauses before he decides that this is life now. He nods and clears his throat again slightly before sniffling again. She coos and leans to press a kiss to his forehead. Phil has lied twice already and his stomach churns. 

“I’ll go get you some medicine tomorrow morning. You just get some rest, sweetheart.” She climbs back out of the bed and tucks Phil back down into the bed. She sighs while looking down at his pale face and feels so bad. She goes to shower, though and leaves Phil to lay alone. 

“Fuck.” He sighs to himself and reaches up, scrubbing over his face with his hands. Just three more days. Just the rest of the year. Just the rest of his life. Every day until he dies, he’s going to be lying to his wife. 

Unless he tells her. And then he loses her. And Rosa. And Charles. And his house and his life and he can’t tell her. He doesn’t want to break her like that. He can’t hurt somebody he loves so much. 

Phil is the definition of he didn’t know what he had until it’s slowly slipping out of his finger-tips. 

He hates himself and he squeezes his eyes shut to stop the tears that threaten to fall. His whole body is sore from the sobs that rocked through him the entire late afternoon and he’s ready for sleep and possibly death. 

And fuck Dan. Fucking all fuck him to fucking hell. Phil knows he can’t blame anybody else other than himself who lost his judgement but fuck Dan. He buries his face into the pillow and almost screams but knows Sarah would hear in the bathroom. So, he continues to cuss Dan out in every which way he can in his brain until he falls asleep. 

\--

He wakes up exhausted and stays in bed for the most of the day against his own wishes. Sarah had gone to pick up medicine and gave him doses when he needed. She brought him his laptop and things so he could do his work without having to move. He feels even worse about this if it was even possible. 

He’s typing up a new page now and sitting up in the bed with the TV playing quietly in the background. A knock on the door forces him to look up from his computer and his eyebrows wrinkle. 

“Babe.. you know you don’t need to knock. I told you already.” He assumed it was Sarah bringing up lunch as she promised. However, when the door opened and the brown fluff of hair walked in, he only made an ass out of himself and himself only. 

“Oh, we’ve moved up from casual fucking to pet names?” Dan asked, plate and glass of lemonade in hand. 

Phil’s eyes widened and he pushed his computer back before shoving the covers off himself. “Get out of here. Leave. I told you I didn’t want to see you again.” He’s speaking hushed before climbing off the bed. 

Dan rolls his eyes and sets the plate and drink down as he walks further into the room next to the dresser against the wall. “Don’t even want a kiss? How mean.” He teases. 

Phil’s flustered and he’s glaring while standing at the side of the bed. “Why are you even up here? Can’t you see I’m trying to live my life without you in it?” 

“Your wife told me to bring you lunch since she’s out swimming with the kids. She feels so bad you’re stuck up here all sick.” He mimics her voice softly while batting his eyelashes. 

“I’m not sick. I mean.. I am. I just. Ugh.” Phil groans, running fingers through his hair. “I needed time to think.” 

“Think about what? Me sucking your dick some more?” Dan bites at the very tip of his tongue as he smirks. Phil’s shaking his head, mumbling a quiet no but Dan makes his way across the room to close in on him. 

“Please.” Phil says, talking softly. He’s looking down at the ground and frowning a little. He shouldn’t feel this way. He shouldn’t be thinking like this. He shouldn’t be standing here with this boy in his room not even a foot away from him. 

“Please what? Please give me another mind-blowing orgasm before I leave with my boring life and boring wife and family? Please suck my cock again because nobody has for such a long time?” Dan’s playfully pouting as he looks at Phil. 

Phil hates that he’s right. He hates that Dan was the first person to touch him like that in a few years. He hates that the first time he hasn’t had to chase an orgasm in three years wasn’t with his wife, but was cheating on her with a pool boy from Florida. Dan can see the thoughts playing out across Phil’s face and Dan knows he’s yet again wrapped around his pinky finger. 

He drops down quickly in front of the man and was quickly tugging his pajama pants down across his thighs. Dan knew he only had the matter of minutes and he was used to working fast, so it didn’t bother him. He hit the jackpot too with a smirk as Phil’s half hard cock bobbed out of his pants. Dan licked a fat line up the underside before his mouth came to wrap around the tip and began sucking quick, his tongue circling around the tip in his mouth. 

Phil almost didn’t follow and only realized what was going on through his soggy brain when Dan’s mouth finally settled around him. “Shit” he breathed out before his hand went down, holding on the loose curls below him to hold him up. Dan’s hands slipped up to grip on his bare hips and only worked faster down around him, bobbing his head quickly. The noises that came through from Dan’s mouth made Phil shudder and moan quietly, muffled by his firmly bit lip. 

Dan eagerly took more of his cock down, pulling off slow with his tongue rubbing on the underside only to let himself repeatedly gag on the tip that pushed and touched the back of his throat. He even let Phil move his hips, encouraging him as he moved his hands back and forth in time with his thrusts. His hollowed cheeks got skinnier the more Phil tugged on his hair and swallowed back his moans down his throat. Dan’s plan worked because Phil bucked in quick little jerks against his lips until he couldn’t hold back anymore. 

With a quick gasp, Phil was spilling against the back of Dan’s throat and the younger boy drank it down, slurping and licking every last drop out of him he could. His nails left soft little creases along his hips when he pulled off, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand. Phil let go and let himself collapse back into the bed for a moment, his whole body stiff. 

Dan grinned, hopping back up onto his feet. He regained his balance and left Phil lay there as he brought the plate and glass over to the bedside table. With a pat to his still exposed thigh, Dan spoke. “Have fun with the guilt and your paper, love.” 

Before Phil could regain the strength to look up and open his eyes, Dan was gone and out of the room. He sighed out and reached down to grip for his pajamas and tugged them back up over his sensitive cock. He glanced at the table before climbing back into the bed, his eyes tired and closing. He didn’t deserve the food; he didn’t deserve to breathe or live or his wife. Besides, if he ate anything right now, he’d be sure to sick it up with the way his stomach rolled with his guilt and hurt. He tried to cry again but his body was so spent, he coughed out his lungs and fell asleep again in a tiny cocoon made of the duvet from the bed and the reflections of his own mistakes and lack of morals. 

\--

Friday, Phil woke up with an actual cold. His chest hurt and he had a cough with a runny nose. The least God could do right now to punish him for being a shitty husband and father. 

He got up, though, and tried to be functional today. On the interior he was constantly having an existential crisis over the horrible choices he’s made in the past 48 hours and on the exterior, he had a minor cold and some sniffles that left him looking paler than normal and a bit rough on the edges. It worked in his favor, he thought. At least Sarah was still buying it. 

Phil also decided he can’t look her in the eye anymore and he would rather not go into the kitchen at all. He makes an excuse about needed to sit down because he’s so dizzy and Sarah buys it all and she helps him to the living room in the big recliner. So they have breakfast in the living room like a family and Phil watches Rosa twirl around in her tutu while singing along to the show on the television and he really wishes he could be something better for her. And for Charles, who dances a long with her. 

He wonders when his kids will find out he’s a lying asshole. 

He wonders when his wife will leave him. 

He takes a sip of his coffee to shut himself up long enough that he can think about something else. Anything else. 

It helps. Sarah starts talking about weddings they’re supposed to go to and parties that are lined up next week when they’re back home in safe London. He nods and listens along and coughs and blows his nose. He asks about what he should wear and what the parties are for again to spark up any conversation that doesn’t feel forced and it settles between them easily. For a moment, he doesn’t feel like his entire chest is going to explode with emotion and he can relax and feel normal even though he knows it’s never going to be normal again, if she finds out or not. 

They have a couple hours of small talk and light banter. They give each other smiles and Phil can finally relax himself and breathe in a sense he hasn’t gotten to feel since Wednesday. It’s their last full day here, and he needs to soak up what good is left before he faces his life back at home. He takes another dose of cold medicine and passes out in his chair for a little while, thankfully with no dreams of anything.

\--

“Hello Lester Family!” The voice rings through his ears and honestly, he’s not surprised anymore. His eyes peek open and yep, Dan is there and he’s bending down to ruffle on Rosa’s hair. “Since it’s your last day, wanted to make you all dinner! Hope that’s fine with you, especially Phil.” And he’s grinning, Phil can hear it in his sick tone. “Know you’re not feeling the best, so hopefully it can cheer you up?” 

“Thanks.” He says before turning his head back the other direction away from where Dan came in the glass sliding doors. Sarah’s smiling. “Sounds great, I can help if you need me!” 

Dan grins. “Awesome! Should we haaave. Tacos or Stir fry? I’m kind of feeling both but it’s honestly up to you.” Sarah’s climbing up off the couch and grinning as well, picking up Charles to take with them as they file into the kitchen. Phil rolls his eyes even though they’re closed and huffs before tucking his arms back around himself. 

Phil would be a mess and a half around Dan with what has gone on the past two days but the medicine dulls any emotion or feeling to just sleep. So, Phil goes back to sleep. 

\--

He wakes up to the smell of seasonings filling the air and a little girl patting his arm. “Dada! Food is ready. Mama said to come eat!” She continued to pat on his arm until he turned over and let out a playful roar at her, smiling big at the little squeal and giggle she lets out.

“Dada Lion is away!” She screams while running back from the living room into the kitchen. He smiles and stretches himself out over the chair before setting himself up in the recliner. He stands and stretches again, feeling better in his chest. His stomach rumble too so he is as ready as ever to get some food in him. He’s walking from the living room and stops himself when he sees everybody, including Dan, sitting around the table that sits in front of the kitchen door. 

“Moring, sweetie!” Sarah exclaims before she giggles. Dan follows with a soft chuckle. “Glad you could join us. Come sit, I made you some two tacos already.” 

Dan nods to the seat between him and Charles before grinning, his dimple creasing deep into his cheek. 

“Actually,” Phil said. “I think we should eat outside on the patio! You know. It’s our last day here, we should soak up as much warm as we can.” 

“Yeah! Wanna eat in the grass!” Rosa agrees and she’s picking up her plate to slip off down her chair. Sarah laughs and shrugs a little. “I guess, why not?” 

Phil smirks proudly. Dan glares but keeps his smile up as he’s helping pick up Charles’s food and his own. Phil comes in and leaves quick, bowls in his arms. 

They all make it outside and Rosa gets her spot in the grass to eat her taco. Phil sits next to his wife and pecks a kiss into her cheek before he digs into his meal. It’s calm and he’s trying his hardest not to be a fool around Dan but he’s making it kind of hard. Phil almost forgets he came into his room and sucked him off. Almost. Sadly, the medicine doesn’t wipe memory. 

Dan is being better, though. He’s keeping polite conversation and laughing with Sarah while helping Charles when he needs it. It’s almost like he’s a different person and it scares Phil a little how much one person could change so easily. Instead of looking up at the person he really doesn’t know, he continues to chew on his food while keeping his eyes on the girl sitting in the grass kicking her legs around. 

To be innocent as her again. Phil wishes. 

\--

They pack and sleep early that nigh with Dan offering to clean up downstairs and around the house to limit the time it takes them to completely gather everything up in the morning. 

Phil’s awake early with a coughing fit so he takes it downstairs, not wanting to wake Sarah or the kids with his noise. While he thought his cold was leaving, it’s full force again and his chest hurts as bad as ever. He guesses he could make some tea and files into the kitchen, warming the water in the kettle and getting the clean mug of his. After a few minutes, he’s made it and sipping it down after adding some honey and sugar. 

The sun is barely out yet and as he makes his way back out of the kitchen, he sees the horizon lighting up as well as the boy sitting at the edge of the pool with his feet dangling down in. He’s kicking a little bit while looking at the same light that fills the skies. Phil tells himself he shouldn’t, but this might be the last time he gets to speak to him. 

Phil opens the sliding door and steps out. With his hand firmly on his mug, he takes a few steps on the concrete closer to the pool. Dan must have heard him because his head glances back behind him, a smile on his lips. He doesn’t say anything and turns back to face the light. 

“Why are you up so early?” Phil asks, moving his eyes to the sky with another sip of tea. Dan’s legs move again the pool and Phil can hear the swoosh of the water around them. 

“Well, I was going to make you guys breakfast. But then I thought, nah. You’ve had enough of me.” 

“You’d be right.” Phil shoots back. His eyes squint a little as the sun continues to rise. Or rather, the earth continues to rotate. Dan shakes his head, chuckling a little to himself. 

“You really don’t like me anymore?” 

“I don’t. I never did.” 

Dan snorts. “I know that’s a lie. You’re really lying to everybody in this house now?” 

Phil almost drops his mug when he starts shaking. He clenches his teeth to stop himself from screaming out profanities. 

“Why did you do this? Why me?” He finally breaks the staring contest he had with the sun and looks down at Dan who shrugs up to him. 

“Why not? You’re a 36-year-old man with two kids and a wife and a fucking vacation house. Everybody needs a little fun every now and again.” 

“It wasn’t fun!” Phil hisses out. “I cheated on my wife and now I’m living a damn lie. But you don’t care, do you? You planned this. You want something now, don’t you? Money? A car? Some jewelry?” 

“No.” Dan shakes his head. “Just wanted some attention. And I wanted you to at least get something good out of your vacation. You know I see guys like you all summer long? They work hard. They have sweet kids and beautiful wives, wives I would kill for too, don’t get me wrong. Usually they’re coming after me the moment they see me. Usually I don’t need to rope them in like I did you. You’re a different story, Phil Lester. You’re the first who has felt bad.” 

Phil stops breathing. He fucking knew it. He said it wasn’t so but he knew it the whole fucking time. He almost drops the mug but instead steps it down roughly on the table so he can fall back into the chair, rubbing his face with the heels of his hands roughly. No, no, no. 

Dan’s legs move through the water again and the birds chirp. 

“You thought… you thought I wanted to cheat on my wife? You thought.. I wasn’t happy or satisfied with our sex?” He’s asking the ground but Dan gets it. 

“Was I wrong?” 

It’s silent. 

Phil hears the splash of water and the small grunts of Dan climbing up off the ground. He hears the smack of wet feet against the concrete that get further and further away the longer he sits and holds his face against his palms. He sits like that until it feels like his skin is burning and peeling off with the sun only going higher in the sky. 

“Phil, sweetie!” He hears Sarah’s voice. He looks up and sees her dressed standing at the doorway. “Are you alright?” 

“Yeah.” He mumbles and stands himself up, reaching for his mug. “Just woke up with the coughs, needed to come outside and breathe some fresh air before it got all muggy.” 

She smiles and pecks his cheek as he walks through the door. “Alright.” 

\--

Their bags are being packed in the back of the cab while Rosa tugs on the leg of Dan’s pants and he’s smiling down at her. 

“Mummy, can Dan come home with us?” 

Phil grunts out a no to his daughter who pouts and stomps around. He shoves the final bag into the back and shuts the door of the cab. 

“Well, I really enjoyed meeting you Dan.” Sarah held out her hand and Dan shook it with a smile. “Clearly somebody else did as well.” 

“I had an awesome time with you guys, as well. I can’t wait to see you next year. Rosa, you’re gonna be even bigger, too!” 

She giggled and nodded and Phil paused as he climbed into the cab. “Next year?” 

Sarah turned around. “Yeah! We’ve got Dan booked for next year too! Same time. I’m really loving this place.” She’s smiling and turns to give a gentle peck to each of Dan’s cheeks in a motherly way before she’s bending to pull Rosa away for the final time. 

Phil takes his daughter and straps her in and refuses to say good-bye to the pool boy. 

“Thank you so much.” Sarah says as she’s climbing into the car. “Rosa, Charles; say thank you!” 

Both the little kids shout out their thank yous happily with waves and leg kicks. Phil gives a stern smile, his lips barely a flat line. He catches Dan’s gaze and he has his permanent smirk on. 

“You’re so very welcome, you guys. I can’t wait to see you guys next year in paradise!” 

Dan winks and Phil shuts the door without any other word. They all settle back into their seats and the start moving, pulling into the road and Phil glances back at Dan who is already walking back into the house. 

In paradise.

**Author's Note:**

> follow me and tell me to write shorter fics on my [twitter](https://www.twitter.com/domniall)


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